We’ve been told that our genetic makeup is the most important factor in whether or not we get certain diseases, but as Dr. Dean Ornish, author of the classic book Program for Reversing Heart Disease, says in his book The Spectrum, our food is more important than our genes. We can switch on disease-preventing genes and switch off disease-causing genes with a plant-based, whole-food diet that’s very low in fat and sugar. Every day we have the chance to build a better, more youthful, stronger self, a healthier self—one resistant to disease—with what we choose to eat and drink. Every day, what we eat and drink affects our ability to be who we are and who we want to be.